Snake's Eyes
by The Dragon Lover
Summary: Have you ever been stuck into a house that didn't seem to accept you? Have you ever experienced the life of a "fish out of water?" Would you like to meet someone who has? You're looking right at her. 1st Person, Yellow Hissi. HIATUS
1. Dawning

_Snake's Eye_

_Chapter 1 – Dawning_

I could feel the sunlight creeping into the window beside my stone-cold bed and could hear the Warfs barking and Mallards squawking. I got up slowly, stretched my wings to their full length, and licked the air with my forked tongue. My yellow scales shone as the sun's rays hit them, lighting up the room. I stretched my tail to my head, up over it, and tried to reach as far as I could without falling over. DL had taught me that trick as an exercise.

Speaking of which, DL came just in time to see me finish off my morning stretch. She was a giant walking cat, one on two legs, and had glowing green eyes like emeralds or spring leaves. They shone miraculously to me as I looked up and smiled. "Hey, DL! What's up?"

DL smiled. "Nothing really, Draca. How about you?" DL was a nice owner, really; she always fed me and bought me toys and plushies, and she'd take me to Faerieland to the Water Faerie's Fountain when I got hurt. I've been trying to beat others at the BattleDome, but I'm not really ready yet. I still need practice.

I yawned and asked, "What day is it?"

DL smiled as she started to clean my room. "Today is Saturday. What would you like to do with the family today?"

I chewed on the tip of my left wing as I thought. "Well, today Gruundo is playing at the Tyrannian Plateau. Can we go there, pretty please?"

DL laughed as she put a helmet into my stone wardrobe. "We'll see, but first we have some errands to run."

I nodded as DL walked out of the room to go wake the others. She always woke me up first, mostly because I don't mind, but also because I'm nice enough to help whenever she went to –

"NOO! I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP, MOMMY! LET ME SLEEP IN!"

"TANIA, WILL YOU BE QUIET! AN EYRIE NEEDS REST, TOO, YA KNOW!"

"PHO, SHUT YOUR BIG TRAP! I'M THE ONE WHO NEEDS BEAUTY SLEEP!"

"DO YOU THINK WE CARE, GOLDY?!?"

"YOU CRAZY GIRLS MAKE SUCH A RACKET IN THE MORNING!"

"ICY, FOREST, SHUT UP BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

I sighed. "It's another one of those days…"

First came Tania; she is a blue Aisha (soon to be baby once 'mom' can afford it) with a very, VERY annoying whining voice. She is the youngest of the group of girls, the baby sister. She always follows me, Pho, Goldy, and everybody else in the house.

Then was Phoenix, my younger 'brother'. Pho is a red Eyrie, hopefully a cloud Eyrie or something (We haven't decided, although Tania suggested Snot) when DL could get it, who wasn't exactly…well, happy all of the time. He seemed to be really withdrawn and antisocial. He doesn't talk to anybody, except Forest and sometimes me. I wish I could find out why he's so sad-looking all of the time, but he only says things like that to Forest, who won't say anything about it.

Gold Hooves is my slightly younger 'sis', yellow Peophin, maybe a desert or royal someday, who is what people would call 'attention-feeders'. They strive on attention and if they don't get it, they make a racket. That's the same for Goldy, except she does it by complaining about how DL didn't make a beauty room or whatever just for her. She's a fashion freak, which I dislike.

Icepaw is my other younger 'sister'. Icy's a blue Xweetok, someday snow, and she's energetic and playful and curious all rolled into one. Unfortunately, she's not a morning person…

Forestclaw is my only older 'brother'…and older 'sibling'. He's just like Pho, except he doesn't even say anything to me! He only talks to Pho when he's alone with him, and whenever he talks to me it's usually because either 'mom' forces him to or it's something really urgent. I've only done something with Forest actually coming with us (a nice little picnic on the beach with everybody, very calming) but all he did was either tell me off or eat silently.

I guessed that Nic was in the kitchen, ignoring the noise coming from the hallways, and eating Lupe O's. He is a blue Lupe, but he's half the size of a normal Lupe. He was the runt of the litter, and Icy pointed him out at the pound. He had been taken from his mom and pop and dumped in there, so DL adopted him right away. DL's been talking about painting him Darigan, but he doesn't look the part, or act it. He's very nice and sometimes shy.

The only 'sibling' that didn't yell would be Fire. FireHeart's my younger 'brother', younger than Pho but older than Icy, a red Kougra who wishes to be painted Fire. He is very curious and likes to play rough, so he's my kind of brother! I like to wrestle and play-fight with him. We have a ball! He uses his fire powers against me, but he hasn't beaten me yet!

I smiled as the little fireball himself walked in, on four paws, and yawned. "It's a surprise to see you up at this hour!"

Fire smirked and sat on the edge of my bed. "Yeah, but how can you sleep in this racket?" As he spoke this, we heard the thumping of footsteps running up and down the halls as DL and the others ran around chasing each other. I would help in a moment, but first I wanted to talk to Fire about something.

"Hey, Fire?" I asked him hesitantly. Fire looked at me, curiosity written all over his face. "Yeah? What is it, Draca?"

I sighed. "Well, it's just that…being adopted and coming into a new family…it's just…hard." I sighed again. "I sound stupid, don't I?"

Fire shook his head. "No, Draca, you sound perfectly normal, for once!" He grinned jokingly. "You don't feel like you belong, correct?"

I nodded. "I try to make friends with my new 'siblings', but…Pho and Forest are in their own shells, Icy and Tania are crazy little midgets, and Goldy's just…Goldy! The only friends I have here are DL and you!" I looked at him, sadness in my eyes. "I can't seem to make any friends here…"

Fire thought for a moment, watching me look down at the ground and flop my tail that hung over the edge of the bed. After a moment, he smirked, and he suddenly tackled me. I wrapped my tail around his middle and picked him up, smirking. "Nice try, buddy! Can't catch me off guard!"

I put him down beside me, and he grinned and playfully punched my shoulder. "Seriously, though, you need to make some friends!" His grin got wider as he said this. "And I know just how you can…"

I saw the mischievous look on his face and raised an eyebrow. "And how's that? Bribing somebody?"

Fire shook his head, still grinning. "Nope! Even better!" He paused dramatically. "You…are going to make friends with Pho and Forest!"


	2. What!

_Snake's Eye_

_Chapter 2 – What?!?_

I blinked, my slit eyes examining him, and I burst out laughing. Fire watched me until I calmed down and wiped the tears from my eyes before he said, "I'm not kidding."

I immediately turned serious. I stared at him. "But…but surely you don't think I can…"

Fire patted me on the back. "Don't worry, Draca, you'll do fine! You just have to do some stuff with them; go to a concert, get a smoothie, visit Mystery Island, the works!" He put his hand on my wing and smiled. "It's easy!"

I looked down at the ground and mumbled, "Easy for _you _to say…" My wings drooped down as I thought about how I would get them to even listen to me.

Fire stood up and rubbed his tail. He looked at the stone bed. "How do you sleep on that?" I grinned as he stretched his front paws out on the floor and yawned. He looked at me and smirked. "Man, I'm still tired after all of that? I better take a catnap before I fall over!" He walked like a drunkard out of the room, hitting the wall before he got out the door. I laughed and shook my head. He's always trying to get me to laugh, and it always works.

I got off of the bed and stretched my wings. They felt like lead. I slithered out into the hallway and bumped into somebody.

I immediately said 'Sorry, I wasn't looking' but I stopped when I looked up and saw who it was.

Forestclaw…

I tensed up and stiffly said, "Sorry." He looked down at me (he's taller than me 'cause he walks on two legs) for a moment, his face blank. Then he walked past me. I stood there for a moment, thinking, before I turned around and shouted, "Wait!"

He turned and looked at me, one of his eyebrows raised. I slithered over to him, my head held high as I stared at him, waiting for a sharp retort. He didn't say anything, though, and waited for me to say my part.

I gulped inwardly and said, "Do you want to come with me to the Gruundo concert later on?"

I waited eagerly and grimly for his response. However, he didn't sneer at me, he didn't laugh in my face, and he didn't ask if I was losing my mind. Instead, he said the last thing I'd think he would say. "Yeah, whatever."

I stared at him as he walk away, stunned. (O.O) 'Did he just say _yes_?' I thought to myself, unable to comprehend what had just happened. I finally shook my head and grinned. 'This is easier than I thought!'

_At 3 o' clock NST…_

I waited eagerly as DL looked through the items in the chocolate factory. I didn't want to have Forest waiting, because he might change his mind and I'll be two blocks behind where I started. I tapped my wing impatiently against my scales as she finally gave the odd Kiko shopkeeper the neopoints and walked towards me by the front gate. "Well, we're ready to go!"

I rolled my eyes. "Finally!" But she just shook her head. "Well, when you have to take care of seven or more pets and buy them all things, I'll tell _you _if you take too long!"

I sighed. "Okay, can we just go home now?"

She grinned, and we walk home. Well, I slithered, but you know what I mean, right? When we got onto our street, I thought I saw someone in the front yard. As we got closer, I realized Forestclaw was tending the garden in the front of our house.

He had a watering can and was bent over, watering the Bluebells and Dragonbuds. He looked up as we came closer. He straightened up and nodded at DL in regard, who smiled at him and said, "Nice to see you helping around the house! Those other good-for-nothings run at the word 'work' or 'chores'!" I had told her about the incident this morning, though, so she knew he was waiting for me.

I smiled and watched as she walked inside. I shook my head. "And she doesn't even appreciate my help!" I chuckled to myself, before I heard Forest clear his throat. I looked at him staring at me and felt slightly embarrassed. I looked down at the ground and said, "Well, I guess we should go to that concert now."

He just nodded and walked off, and I hurried after him, thinking, 'what's with the silent treatment?' We walked (again with the walk…you know what I mean, right?) down the street and out of Neopia Central. It was quite a hike from Neopia Central to Tyrannia, but all the same it was nice. I looked around at the forest we had walked into and saw all of the bird petpets and bug petpets in the trees and on the ground. A Mallard and its family wobbled out in front of us once, and we waited for it to cross to the other side before we continued.

I could feel Forest staring at me as I looked at the wildlife with awe and interest. At first I could ignore it, but it soon began to irritate me until it felt like he was burning holes with his eyes. I glanced at him and he looked away, and I looked back at the ground. I was about to say something when I heard something.

I had been slithering nicely with my head down, when something above me went crack. I looked up and suddenly found myself on the ground. My head was spinning, and I saw three huge branches on top of me and three Forests staring at me. If I could have looked at myself, I would have seen my eyes were swirling. .

I suddenly felt my body leave the ground, and found myself standing up straight (YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!) as Forest walked away. I blinked and slithered after him, slightly wobbly from the collision. I finally caught up to him and said, "Thanks."

He glanced at me for a moment, his eyes shrouded in thought, before he looked back ahead. I tilted my head, but I left him alone. It was the least I could do to repay him.

_At the ticket booth…_

After a good half an hour walk, we found the ticket booth. Thankfully, there were still some tickets left, and we went into the concert hall and gave the Mynci ours. He let us in, and we found ourselves in a huge crowd. Millions upon millions of Neopians were hear to listen to the Gruundos. I saw the Orange Grundos get onto the stage, and the crowd let out a roar.

The Gruundos' lead guitarist held up a three-fingered hand, and everybody quieted down. He started with a solo, soft at the beginning, but getting louder and louder as he went. Soon, the drummer let out a huge _bang _with his drumsticks, and the whole band joined in. The crowd cheered in delight, and several people held up signs like 'I love you Gruundo!' and 'Rock on!'

Me and Forest listened to them rock on for about four hours, and the finale was framed by fireworks in the sky, exploding into many different shapes. They even threw out some Neopets fireworks. One thing that struck me odd, though, was they lit up the sky with an Ogrin and Hissi combo _bang! _It must be a coincidence.

I smiled as the fans began to file out of the stadium under the stars and explosions. I slithered over to the group of fans clustering around the poor Gruundo group, and pushed my way to the band. I moved a path for me very roughly and got to the front. The drummer watched me push my way, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He handed me a special Gruundo shirt with the band's signatures when I got up to him, and I looked down at it, amazed. When I looked up to thank him, though, the band was already trying to get out of the mob and the stadium.

I flew over quickly to Forestclaw, who was leaning against the wall by the exit tapping his foot impatiently, and he looked at me and my shirt. He just shrugged and looked away, but I could swear he had the same twinkle in his eye the drummer had…

I slithered up to him and spoke up, "Hey, do you think we should be out walking home now this late? It would be faster if you flew on my back home instead of through the forest again." He glanced at me and shook his head. "I'd rather walk." As he walked off, leaving me standing there, I shook my head and slithered after him. He sure acted weird.

We went into the forest again, but it wasn't as delightful and cheery as the one to Tyrannia. Every noise echoed wickedly, and the calls of the night made me shiver. It was too cold, too, and since I'm cold-blooded that made me even more jumpy from weariness.

Forest, though, seemed to enjoy the night. He looked up at the moon and smiled, the first time I've ever seen him smile before, as the stars reflected in his eyes. He seemed so happy here, yet he seemed to be out of it, like he wasn't exactly there, like he was remembering something.

I didn't like the sounds of the night, but Forest loved them all. He would twitch his ears whenever he heard something and smile as if he knew exactly what it was. Every twig that snapped, every howl in the darkness, every rustle of leaves seemed to make him grin. He looked at me and my edginess and smirked. "You're as jittery as a Meerca."

I looked at him, surprised he was the one that spoke first. "Well, I d-don't like the d-d-dark and the c-c-cold; I l-live in the d-d-d-daytime and in the h-heat."

He sighed and looked back up at the starry sky. "Then you're missing everything."

I was mystified at his sudden social outburst. _Why is he talking to me all of a sudden? Is he _that_ comfortable in the dark?_

I shivered again and wrapped my wings around myself, looking around anxiously. "I'm missing the d-_dark_, and the _cold_, and the c-c-_creepiness_, and the _freakiness_. I'm s-s-_so_ envious of you."

My sarcasm made him laugh, and I looked at him. He never laughed, he never smiled, and he never _talked. _What was going on? "Why are y-you in such a j-j-jolly mood? I've never heard you t-talk so much since I've m-met you!"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe the fresh night air's just getting to me." He looked at me shivering and shook his head. "Are you really _that_ cold?"

I nodded. "Being c-c-cold-blooded and having scales isn't exactly h-h-h-helpful for n-night trips."

He sighed. "Well, rub your shoulders with your…wings. It should help you warm up."

I started to rub my shoulders, and soon I did feel the friction warm them up. I kept it up for a while, and soon I felt a lot better. I looked at him. "Thanks."

He shrugged again. "No prob."


	3. Enlightenment

_Snake's Eye – Chapter 3_

_Enlightenment_

The walk seemed to go on forever. I believed it would never end. Forestclaw continued his night-activities, looking around and smiling at the night world, as I kept warming myself and moved closer to him for safety. I didn't like the nighttime, since it was the opposite of the daytime. Besides, I wasn't nocturnal.

We came upon a lake, and I frowned. "I don't remember _this_ on our way to the concert…"

Forest sat down on the grass. "We walked right past it on our way. We just went a bit too south this time." He stretched out and lay down on the grass, smiling up at the stars. I stood beside him and looked over the lake at the moon's reflection. It shimmered, occasionally broken as a fish petpet jumped up to catch a bug. I looked down at him. "Shouldn't we be going home?"

He looked at me. "Do you _really _want to go back to that racket right now? This is the only time we'll get peace and quiet."

That kind of won me over. A relief from the usual noise and rumble was a blessing from the Faerie Queen to me. I sat down on the grass beside him (to his left) and breathed in the night air. It _did _feel good, and I breathed it in deeply and let the smells and warmth fill me up. Forest snapped me out of my thoughts when he spoke up. "The night sure is wonderful."

I looked down at him. "Yeah, it's alright, I guess." He smirked at me. "You guess?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please, you sound like Fire."

Forest put his front paws behind his head. Seriously, you people with legs and feet and paws are really odd, strange creatures. "You seem to get along with FireHeart very well."

I nodded and looked up at the stars. They were like diamonds in the sky…'up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky', the old nursery rhyme goes. "He's a good pal. We wrestle with each other and race with each other, and when we're tired we try to see who can eat the fastest." I smirked and laughed. "I remember when we both got the Sneezles! It was before I moved in here; we were diagnosed, and we both stayed in bed. But, we had a little walkie-talkie system, and we threw insults at each other. Since we couldn't get out of bed to go to the other's house and beat the Meepits out of each other, we could say whatever we wanted!"

Forest watched me with amusement as I grinned at the stars. "That sounds like fun."

I looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. "Then how come _you _don't join in?"

Forest turned his head away, not looking at me. "I…I don't get along with the others that well…"

I shrugged. "Neither do I! Fire's my only friend, and DL's only my friend 'cause she's my new owner! It's really hard being new and unfamiliar with your surroundings. Everybody's a stranger, and you can't forget your last owner and all the memories there, and everything's just turned upside-down!" I sighed, my happy mood ruined. "It royally sucks…"

Forest looked me straight in the eyes, making me freeze. I couldn't look away, not because of some 'magic' or something, but because I saw something I usually don't see in his eyes: emotion. Or, to be more specific, sorrow. He whispered quietly, "I know that all too well…"

He looked away, and the 'spell' was broken. I blinked and tilted my head. "Huh?"

He looked at a lightning bug on a blade of grass to his right, avoiding my gaze. "I'd rather not…"

I lay down, putting my head on my right wing like you _humans _put your head on your hand, and shrugged. "Alright, ya don't have to if ya don't wanna…"

We lay there quietly, listening to the sounds of crickets chirping and Lupes or something howling to each other. I twitched my tail from time to time, just looking at his odd face, but I had to stifle a yawn. He still heard it, though, and glanced at me. He got up and cracked his neck. "Well, we should be going home now. DL's probably going nuts right now over where we've been, and only Coltzan knows what the others will do!"

I stood up and stretched my wings. I immediately wished I didn't and started rubbing my wings on my shoulders again. Forest looked at me and laughed. "Well, the cold will keep you awake."

I rolled my eyes. "That was so funny I forgot how to laugh…"

Forest smirked. "I didn't." He laughed.

I shook my head at him. "You're different than what I thought you were like."

He nodded. "Thank you."

_Later, at about 8 o' clock NST…_

We arrived at the front door, and Forestclaw and I looked at each other nervously. I slowly grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Forest stepped back as I opened it slowly. Carefully, I opened the door all the way.

The house was quiet.

I looked around the front hall. Nothing moved in the dim light that the moonlight that filtered into the room could show. I signaled to Forest, and we slowly stepped in. We turned and both slowly closed the door shut, but behind us we heard a click. The light of a lamp flooded the room, and we both whirled around to see DL sitting on a comfy chair, her arms crossed and a 'where-have-you-been-all-of-this-time' look on her face.

She held up her hand, and we both shook our heads rapidly. DL smirked mischievously.

_Snap!_

Just a snap of her fingers, and the house burst with sound. Footsteps sounded all over the house, and all of the little people burst from the two doors into the front room. They all started chattering over each other, even while Icy tackled Forest and Tania latched herself onto my wing. I tried to shake her off, but she was a strong little Aisha.

Finally, DL told them to be quiet. She looked at us, grinning. "Why were you guys so late?"

I finally shook Tania off and looked up at her. "It took a long time to go there and back. I suggested flying, but Forest said we should walk."

DL picked up Icy off of Forestclaw, and he got up and brushed himself off. He was back to his normal indifferent self, and he looked at DL, his expression blank. DL looked at him knowingly, although of what I couldn't tell, and said, "Alright, gang, split up; time for bed." She was responded by a chorus of 'awws', but she eventually got them to go. Fire, however, lingered for a moment. I winked, and he winked back before he was ushered out by DL. The house was quiet once more.

I walked down the hall towards my room, and Forest followed me since his room was down that way as well. When I came up to my room door, I looked back at him and smiled. "G'night."

He nodded, and I walked into my room and closed the door. I curled onto my stone bed, and it suddenly felt colder than usual. I missed the grass by the lake, and the warm night air…

I shook my head and sighed. "I need to sleep." I curled up into a swirl and lay my head onto my wing, covering my face with the other. Soon, I finally drifted unconscious.


	4. New Dawn

_Snake's Eye – Chapter 4_

_New Dawn_

When I awoke, I realized it was still a little ways before dawn. I stretched and yawned, not feeling all that tired, and got up. What could have possibly woken me up so early?

I sighed and sat up, looking around. Everything was quiet other than the sounds of sleeping pets. DL was usually under a million sheets of blankets, so I wouldn't know if she snored. With all of those petpets sleeping on top of her, I was surprised she didn't die of suffocating and/or overheating. I crawled out of bed and looked out the window. The moon shone brightly just above the horizon, and the stars twinkled in the before dawn sky.

I sighed. _It's almost dawn…I must have awoken because of how my time frame is… _I stretched my wings and leaned against the windowsill, staring out at the world from my window. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, without any noise or ruckus. It was really something to like after a while. What I didn't like was the feeling of loneliness that surrounded me. I was almost the only Neopet awake for miles and miles to come. No one else was looking out of their window.

A feeling of cold started to come over me, so I opened my window and let the air in. I breathed it in and sighed. The air felt good to my lungs. It caressed my cheek as I breathed in deeply, letting it fill me like before. It was so calming, like a wave of understanding and serenity that calmed me down. Being alone wasn't so bad. You could have your own thoughts and beliefs with no one to criticize you. You could be free without the cage of peer pressure. Who else was there to judge you on how you acted at this time of night?

I stood there, breathing in the air, until I felt a hand on my right wing. I looked to my right and saw DL standing there, looking out the window beside me. I nodded and looked outside, and we watched my first sunrise together. The sun came up slowly, sifting its fingers of light across the ground and into the room, like it was testing water if it was too hot or cold. A feeling of joy overcame me as I saw the sun come up from the horizon, with the birds singing like angels. They welcomed it like a king, for it was the king of the sky. The moon was the queen that danced at night, waiting for the sun to come about.

This, and the feeling the night air gave me, just made me love the world. It was so beautiful and everlasting, changing from night to day, from beauty to bravery. It was just a sense of poetic insight that besieged me that morning, with the night air and the rising sun.

After the light touched the hallway, DL turned to me. "Well, it's time to get up."

I laughed, feeling slightly giddy and witty. "Oh, really? Than I'd better get out of bed now!" We both laughed, but we stopped when we heard footsteps. We turned to see FireHeart standing there, his head tilted and wondering what was going on. I invited him over. "Come on, Fire! Join the wake-up crowd!" I grinned. "All ya gotta do is wake up!"

He grinned back and stretched out his paws and pretended to yawn. He scratched his ear and looked up. "Am I awake now?" We all burst out laughing, with him rolling on the floor holding his stomach. He got up and walked over to the window with us. He looked at me. "So, what are you guys doing up so early?"

I looked at DL. "I'm guessing she's awake before now, but I woke up before dawn. I couldn't sleep."

He nodded and grinned. "So, did you make a new friend?" He winked so that DL couldn't see it, but she knew something was up.

I nodded, a smile playing at the corners of my mouth. "Yeah, I did, actually. He's a bit of a quiet one at times, but at night he loves to talk!"

Fire's grin got bigger. "So, what're you gonna do next with 'im?"

I shrugged and finally let my smile show. "Well, I was thinking of a night walk on the beach or something; he seems to like nighttime."

DL looked at us with an eyebrow raised. "What are you two up to?"

We looked at her and smiled innocently. "Nothing!"

She chuckled. "Your halos are being supported by devil horns."

We both smirked at each other. "Whatever do you mean?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Never mind, just don't get into any _big _trouble or steal or break anything. I'm going to wake up – "

"Mom, what are you guys doing?"

All three of us turned to see everyone else staring at us through the doorway. Icy was looking out from behind Tania, who was hugging her Green Blumaroo Plushie close to her. Nic was peeking from behind Pho, his eyes wide with curiosity. I could see Forestclaw leaning against the wall. He was smirking about something.

DL put her paws on her hips and leaned to one side, like I've seen Icy and Tania do when they try to copy Goldy. I had to stifle a laugh as she asked, "How long have you guys been there?"

Goldy smirked slyly at me. "Long enough. It seems Draca has found herself a boyfriend." Her Scadao, named 'Prince Nut', nodded in agreement.

I got red in the face, either from anger or embarrassment I didn't have a clue (maybe both), and shouted, "I do not! He's a friend!" I didn't dare add that he was standing right behind her with a grin on his face because she might start singing 'Forestclaw and Draca, sitting in a tree…'

Icy and Tania both chorused, "You _like _him! We can tell!"

I held up my wing like a fist and said, "I do _not! _Can't I ever have a friend of the other gender without getting attacked by a crazy mob of psychos?"

Fire crossed his arms and nodded. (He was still leaning against the windowsill, which is how he crossed his arms) "When you saw us wrestling, you said it was 'a struggle of love'!"

Goldy pushed her long mane out of her face. "Well, it's not _my _fault Draca seems to attract guys! I wish I had some of her talent."

I blushed even darker and was about to yell at the stupid fish-horse hybrid when Fire grabbed my wing and said, "Draca, that was as good as a compliment as you'll get from her. Don't blow it."

I glared at Goldy for a moment, my blood still boiling (which is kind of weird, being a cold-blooded creature and all). Then, my shoulders sagged and I sighed in defeat. DL immediately went about and shooed everyone to go to the kitchen. I watched Forestclaw as he walked after them. He glanced at me, his eyes seeming to say 'good job', before he walked down the hall.

Fire followed my gaze, and when Forest was gone he elbowed me lightly. "If you're not careful, you might end up falling for that big sourpuss!"

I glared at him. "Why would I, Fire? Besides, he's a totally different species then I am!"

Fire grinned. "So?"

I shook my head. "Scales and fur don't mix, Fire. That's how it goes." I sighed. "Sometimes you act so child-ish…"

Fire punched me playfully on the wing. "Hey, I'm still a kid, right? You are, too! So why shouldn't I be?"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's go eat."

Fire smiled and rubbed his stomach. "Tigersquash Iced Bun with some homemade Tigersquash Juice…"

I closed my eyes and sighed in content. "A big Bronto Bite with Bargasaurus Steak and a nice hot mug of Breakfast Tea…"

We both grinned. "Mmmm…"

As we both zoomed down the hall, him running on all fours and me flying, we could smell the breakfast scents already. Our mouths watered as we entered the kitchen.

Icepaw was eating a Tchea Fruit with Snowberry Tea, Tania was snacking on the fruit part of a Cheops Plant, GoldHooves and her petpet were nibbling on a salad, DL was making food while eating a Sausage and Pepperoni Omelette, and Forestclaw was handing a slice of an Ummagine to Nic absentmindedly while sipping some Pinanna Cappuccino and reading the Neopian Times. He looked up and smiled for half a second before flipping the page of the newspaper. Pho wasn't anywhere to be seen.

DL looked at us and smiled. "Here ya go guys! Sit at the table!"

We each pulled up a chair and sat down. The seating arrangements were: Goldy at the end, Icy to her right, Tania, Nic at the other end, Forest, me, and Fire on Goldy's left (my right). I glanced at what Forestclaw was reading and almost laughed aloud. He was reading the comics.

When we both got our food, we did the normal eating race. We gobbled down our food and tried to drink faster than the other. I, however, started to choke. I coughed, and Fire patted me on the back hard. I finally wiped my mouth and looked at him. He stared at me for a moment, before he grinned mischievously.

He tackled me, and we rolled around on the kitchen floor wrestling. I pulled his arm behind his head, but he kicked me in the stomach and bit me on the wing. I shook him off and rammed into his stomach, and we rolled down the hallway until we hit a wall.

We sat there, heads spinning, before suddenly Tania joined in. She tackled Fire and caught him off guard, and I smirked and started tickling him with my tail. He started laughing, and Tania started tickling him as well. Tears started forming in his eyes, and he waved his napkin in the air. He said in between laughs, "I…give…I give!"

We let him go, and we all lay on the ground panting. I looked at Tania. "You're pretty good at wrestling, Tania! You and I should tussle sometime!"

She smiled and held her head up proudly. "I'm going to be in the BattleDome someday! My name will be uttered with fear from my opponents as I enter the ring, and the crowd will cheer my name! I'll be the best!"

I patted her on the head. "Well, you better keep training; even the best have to train to keep their tactics from getting rusty."

She nodded. "Okay!" She ran off to her room, probably to practice, and left me and Fire in the hallway. He got up and dusted himself off. "That was odd and scary."

I nodded. "Really scary."

I got up and shook myself off like I've seen Nic do. It really gets the dirt and dust off of you, but it doesn't help everyone else. Fire hacked and wheezed as I flung dust into his face. "Geez, you're almost worse than Nic!"

I gave him a toothy grin. "What, you mean I can't do 'snakey see, snakey do' anymore? That stinks…"

He rolled his eyes. "Dude, he's a dog, you're a snake with wings. There's a _big _difference there in species."

I smirked. "Oh, and I thought you said that 'it didn't matter if you're different species'!"

He stuck his tongue out at me. "So you want to be a Lupe now? Let me get the Lab Ray!"

I pushed him over. "Oh, yeah? Then I'll turn you into a pile of sludge!"

He grinned and got up. "And I know you'll be so jealous of my good looks afterwards that I'll help you!"

I laughed. "Yeah, right! Don't be such a dork, Fire-Butt!"

He shot a fireball at me, and I quickly dodged. It hit the wall with a _hiss _and left a black mark, and we immediately heard DL yell down the hall, "Fire, no throwing fireballs in the house!" We looked at each other and sniggered, before we went to our respected rooms.

I lay down on my bed and stared at the ceiling for while, letting my thoughts wander. Fifteen minutes later, though, I heard two people talking and walking down the hallway. I saw out of the corner of my eye a red and a green certain someone and another. I got up and peeked around the corner just in time to see Forestclaw and a red tail go around the corner.

There's only one red-tailed pet in this house, and that would be Phoenix, or Pho.

I crept down the hall and watched them go upstairs. They were probably going into Forestclaw's room. I went as stealthily as I could up the stairs, which is extremely quiet since I'm a Hissi, and peeked into his room.


	5. Feather

_Snake's Eye – Chapter 5_

_Feather_

Forestclaw was lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling like I was a few seconds ago. Pho was facing him and sitting on a nice and exquisite chair, probably oak or something.

Pho was sitting facing the back of the chair, with his head on his paws. "So, what did you do with Draca?"

Forest didn't look at him. "We went to a concert."

Pho raised an eyebrow. "That's it? A concert? Nothing…else happened?"

Forest looked at him. "No, nothing else happened. We walked to Tyrannia, got the tickets, watched the show, came back, and went to sleep."

Pho's tail flicked as he said, "So you didn't talk at all? No conversations with her?"

Forest looked back at the ceiling. "She asked if I wanted to fly on her back instead of walk. I declined."

Pho suddenly sighed with disappointment. "You know you can't lie to me, Forest. I can tell if you are."

Forest sighed and sat up. I had to pull back a bit from the doorway so I wouldn't be seen. "I know…you remind me of Feather."

I narrowed my eyes. _Feather? Who's Feather?_

Pho listened intently as Forest described how they found the lake. He was really bland about it, not making much detail into the matter. When he was done, Pho grinned. "You're such a wimp!"

Forest frowned. "Wha? Me, a wimp? What do you mean?"

Pho's grin got wider. "You could have swept her off of her…tail, take her and planted one right – "

"Hey!" Forest glared at him. "I am _not _going to do that; never have, didn't, and never will."

Pho smiled. "Or do you like Goldy more? She's so beautiful, with that long silky mane…" He faked swooning and made kissing noises. (How he does it with a beak, I'll never know) Forest growled, "I don't like _anybody. _I have friends, I have 'family'. That's it."

Pho smirked. "Well, you should still do something amazing or something. Buy her a bouquet, or maybe some chocolates, and –"

Forest slapped him in the face with a pillow, and the rest was muffled. Forest had a vein popping up on his head, and his eyes were closed, one twitching irritably. "I…told…you…I…don't…like…_anybody_…the only person that was ever…_really _close to me was Feather…and she was family."

A vein popped up on my head as well. _Who the heck is this Feather person? And aren't we a part of his family?_

Pho pulled the pillow from his beak and spit out a few feathers. (Typical of Forest to have feather-pillows; he's all for 'nature', as it seems) He looked at Forest, his face back to a more somber expression. "So…so what did you guys do? You and Feather, I mean…"

Forest lay back down on the bed and sighed. "We…we walked in the forest and read books together and talked about things…the normal things brothers and sisters do…"

Pho laughed. "You mean the normal things brothers and sisters _should _do!"

Forest rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that…"

Pho looked up in thought. "You know, you are adopted, and Draca…well, you guys have more in common than you might think."

Forest sighed. "Yeah, I know, but I'm not exactly what you would call 'social'. I'd rather stay safe and out of harms way and – "

"And be totally boring!" Pho interrupted. He grinned. "Come on! Give her a chance, Forest! You should try it!" He elbowed him, still smirking. "You might turn out to be the ladies' pet!"

Forest rolled his eyes again. "Sure, when blue Boris fly and pink Unis dig…"

I quickly flew downstairs. _That is odd…why does Pho think him and I…would make a good couple? _I sighed. _I think he's been around Goldy too much…_

As I slithered down the hallway to my room, I bumped into Goldy herself brushing her mane with a blue brush. _Well, speak of the devil! Almost literally! _I thought, smirking. "Well, how are you today, Goldy? Have any cosmetic problems?"

Goldy scoffed at me. "Well, sorry, boy-magnet! It's not my fault I'm beautiful and you're not!" She tossed her mane, trying to show it off. "Some pets are born with it!"

I held back my anger and replied coolly, "Well, I hope you can fix wrecks up pretty well, because there's something wrong on your head!"

Goldy gasped and felt the top of her head. "Really? Where?"

I laughed and slithered past her. "Oh wait, that's your face!"

Goldy glared at me as I slid off into my room. "You little – I'll get you, Draca!"

I smirked and quickly closed the door behind me. I turned around and suddenly was overcome by a mass of blue and brown. I looked up from the ground to see Icy, Nic, and Tania staring down at me. I sighed. "What are you guys doing in my room?"

All three of them shouted, "Let's go to the park!" They started to plead and beg, whining as loud as they could. I finally yelled, "Alright! Let's go to the park!"

They all smiled and yelled, "Yeah!"

I sighed. "What'd I do to deserve this?" I slithered out of my room with them trailing behind me, totally forgetting about Pho and Forest.

_Later, at 10 o' clock NST…_

As I sat and watched them romp around and tackle each other, I felt the bench sag slightly from weight being added. I looked to my left and saw a very beautiful blue Wocky. She had a dark blue scarf with gold strings on the ends wrapped around her neck, a necklace with some blue jewel in the shape of a seashell, and some kind of strange shell looking instrument on her lap.

She looked at me and tilted her head slightly. "Hello. Who might you be?"

I blinked at her strange formal speech and her calm disposition. "I'm Draca. Who are you?"

The Wocky smiled, her teeth shining like polished pearls. "I am called 'Sapphire of the River', but my other name is Emi." Something white jumped from behind her and tackled her arm. Emi looked down at it and smiled. "And this is Katy, my friend."

I grinned and tickled the Catamara under its chin. The little furball had two paws and two long tails. It looked even stranger than Forest with his four paws and odd ears. Katy let out a little 'chi' and grabbed onto my tail. I smiled and gently put her onto Emi's lap.

Emi patted Katy and smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Draca."

I nodded, glancing as Tania was playing with Nic very roughly. "It's nice to meet you too – Tania! Tania, get over here! Don't play with him so roughly! Tania! Tania, are you listening to me?"

Emi slightly smiled as I excused myself and flew over to Tania. She was biting Nic on his ear, and tears were in his eyes. Aishas have very sharp teeth.

I picked Tania by her long pair of ears, and she let go of Nic. She smiled innocently at me, but I wasn't buying it. "You know how sensitive his ears are! Yours are, too! Would you like it if I suddenly bit into your ears?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, but you're hurting them right now."

I dropped her on her butt, and Icy laughed at her. Tania growled and swiftly charged into Icy, and they started to fight. I sighed and slithered back to the bench. I plopped down, and I heard Emi exclaim, "You seem to have your wings full with those little pets."

I sighed and glanced at her. "It's even worse at home; I have to help my owner with those monsters, I have a very odd brother who tells me to do strange things, and I've got a bunch of siblings who think I have a boyfriend and keep asking me about him."

Emi smiled. "Well, that sounds…fun."

"Yeah, so much fun I can't take it anymore."

She laughed, which surprised me. Her laugh sounded like the flowing wind as it blew into my ear. (Yes, Hissis have ears. You just can't see them!) "Well, it's nice to have a family that loves you."

I sighed and looked down as my tail hung off the bench, waving at the slight breeze. "Yeah, it _would _be nice to have one like that…they aren't even really my family! I was adopted into the family…"

Emi put her paw on my shoulder and smiled with kindness. (For those who are asking where my shoulder is, it's where the wings meet my body) I looked at her as she coaxed, "It doesn't matter if you are of blood or not; you are a family, no matter what species or color or even what size you are."

Her emerald green eyes seemed to say the same, and a smile slowly spread onto my face. I put my wing on her shoulder. "Thank you, Em. That really helps a lot."

She nodded and looked up as a blue Bori, about three feet tall, walked over to us on two legs. (Seriously, how do they do it? How do _you _do it?) He looked at Emi excitedly. "Come on, Emi! Let's go to Happy Valley, or the Ice caves, or maybe even Terror Mountain!"

Emi smiled and patted him on the head. "Please, call me sis, and yes, we can go." The Bori smiled and hugged her, and she looked at me. "Well, I must go now. My brother Tai wants to go really badly; he's never been to Terror Mountain." She waved her paw. "Good-bye. I hope we meet again."

I nodded and grinned. "Yeah, I do, too! See ya!"

"Bye!" Tai waved back at me as Emi pulled him out of the park. I waved at him until I heard a familiar voice…

"Who was that?"

I jumped up and whirled around to see Forestclaw standing there with Icy, Tania, and Nic hiding behind him. The little pets were all staring at where Tai and Emi had disappeared. Forest was standing with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

I rubbed the back of my neck with my wing (Like people do whenever they're nervous) and laughed nervously. "Oh, that was…Emi. I just met her as I was watching the little rats playing around."

There was a chorus of 'hey' and suddenly I was on the ground again. The little 'rats' were in my face protesting. I tried to shove them off, but they were pretty strong for runts. I hissed and shouted, "I'm gonna bite all of ya if ya don't get off of me! Who's dinner tonight?"

Immediately, I felt the difference in weight. They all had jumped off with yelps and hidden in the bushes or behind a tree. They looked out from their hiding places and gulped. I smirked and rubbed my head. "Ya guys keep doing that and someday you'll put me in a coma!"

They giggled from their hiding places, and I got up and brushed myself off. I looked up at Forest. "So what are you doing here?"

Forest shrugged. "I was walking around. I saw you talking with that Wocky and decided to drop in."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" I heard Tania and Icy whispering something. I glared at them, and they instantly shut up. I smirked and turned back to Forest, but he was now sitting on the bench. I was about to walk over (Slither…seriously, you guys know what I mean) to the bench when I fell down because something had grabbed my tail. I looked back to see Nic holding on tightly. His eyes were huge and pleading as he said, "Hey, Dwaca? Can we pway together? Pwetty pwease?"

I sighed inwardly as I covered my eyes and fake-screamed, "Ahh! Not the face, oh no, not the face! Oh, it burns!"

Nic giggled, and I suddenly grabbed him with my wing and threw him up in the air. He yelped, but I caught him and threw him up again. He smiled, and when I threw him up a third time he giggled and howled like a Were Lupe. I smirked as I caught him and tickled his stomach. He laughed and put up his paws to try and push my tail away, but I then blew on his belly and made a rude noise. He burst out laughing even harder, and I put him down on the ground. He rolled around for a while, holding his stomach and just laughing his tail off.

Forest watched me this whole time, an eyebrow raised at my antics. I didn't notice him as I got down on the ground and came face-to-face with Nic. Nic stared back at me, still smiling. I asked him, "Do you wanna fly for real?"

He gasped and nodded his head quickly, and I stood up straight and motioned for him to climb on. After a few unsuccessful tries, I pulled him up with my tail and put him on my head. Forest watched me in interest, but I still hadn't noticed. I told him 'hold on' before I flapped my wings.

As soon as my tail left the ground, he gasped at the sudden feel of flight. I flapped my wings to get higher, and we soared up to the clouds. It was a bit windy, but it was only a slight breeze, not nearly enough to send me off-track. I flew higher and looked up at Nic. He was smiling and looking up at the clouds and sky.

A group of Faerie Baabaas flew past us and Nic tried to grab one, but it slipped out of his grasp and flew away. A group of Faellies flew by us as well, and Nic grabbed a hold of one. It looked at him with frightened eyes, so he smiled and let it go. The Faellie flew around us a few times, then did a loop-de-loop and flew away.

We flew straight up above the park, and Nic waved down at Tania, Icy, and Forest. Tania and Icy yelled up at us and waved their arms madly in the air, while Forest just nodded and waved slightly. Nic pointed down at them and punched his paw forward, and I understood and smirked. I flew up high above Forest and them, and Nic gasped as his breath was torn from him. I stopped flapping my wings, and we seemed to float for a moment, as if suspended by an invisible string. I looked at him and grinned, and then gravity kicked in.

We dived down straight towards Tania and Icy. They yelled and pointed at us, and Forest frowned as he watched us. I smirked at him and let my wings go limp, giving us more speed as they whipped up against my scales. Nic held on tight for fear of falling off, but he was grinning and joy simply poured from his mouth even though he couldn't yell it out loud.

At the last minute, right before we rammed into the ground at a good 80 or more mph, I let out my wings and tilted them just right. We barely skimmed against the grass blades and shot like a rocket horizontally past Icy and Tania. As we passed Forest, we both yelled, "Kau-wabunga!"

We whipped past them, and I tilted my wings and lifted us up into the air. I did a couple of loop-de-loops in the air, and one time Nic slipped off. But I quickly dived down, and he fell back onto my back. He laughed as we slowly glided down back to the park.

When I landed, he rolled down my back and onto the ground before he started jumping around and shouting, "That was cool, Dwaca! I wuv it, that was awesome! I wanna learn how to fwy!"

I smiled and patted him on the head. "Well, Faerie Lupes can fly."

He shook his head and made a face. "They wook wike sissies! I wanna be cool!"

I smiled, and suddenly Tania and Icy bounded over and stared to shout, "We wanna ride, too!"

I smiled. "Well, I guess I'm popular now, aren't I?"

The two blue pets pulled on my wings, and finally I pulled them up and started to fly. It wasn't as elaborate or exciting as it was with Nic because they were so heavy, but they enjoyed it all the same.

After they got off, they ran over to Forest and tried to pull him up. They were yelling, "Come on, Forest! Try it! It's fun!"

Forest shook his head, but I crossed my wings like arms and smirked. "Yeah, Forest, why not? It sure is loads of fun."

Forest looked at me with a 'no' clearly written on his face, but Nic pulled his leg and pleaded, "Pwease, big brotha? It's weally fun!"

Forest looked down at the three faces begging with big eyes and quivering lips, and he sighed. "Why?"

They all said together, "Because it's so cool!" Then they pulled him over to me and pushed him. He stumbled slightly, but he straightened up and stared at me. I smirked and turned my back towards him to get on. He stared at it uneasily, but the three pets behind him pushed him, and he ran into me. He grabbed onto my back so as to not fall over, and I smirked and flapped my wings. Forest stared in horror as we flew up and he grabbed on tightly to my neck.

I got up above the trees of the park and looked around me, and he yelled, "What are you doing?"

I looked at him and smirked. "I'm looking for something." Then, I found what I was looking for and flapped my wings a couple of times before I started to glide northeast. He looked down and saw Icy, Tania, and Nic running after us, shouting something we couldn't hear.

He gulped and held a bit tighter to my shoulders, and I laughed. "You've never flown before, have you?"

He shook his head, his eyes glued on the figures below us that seemed to grow smaller and smaller until they were dots. He looked at the forest I was flying to and asked, "What are you doing _now?_"

"I'm showing you a different perspective of the world." I lightly landed on a treetop, and he fell off and landed in the soft leaves. I shook myself off like Nic usually does and looked up at the sky. I smiled. "Ah, a wonderful day for flying; clouds to do dives through, a slight breeze to whistle in your face, and the sun to race through the big blue."

Forest looked at me strangely. "You're very strange."

I looked at him, confused. "You mean you've never touched the clouds, or felt the breeze on your face as you tried to fly faster than the sun?" I sighed. "I did all of that and more when I was with my last owner…"

He blinked. "I've touched the fog, and felt the morning breeze brush past me, but how can you race the sun?"

I sighed. "You're missing out on it all…" I closed my eyes and remembered the first time I flew. "The feelings that course through me are indescribable…the feeling of freedom that you get when you look down at all of those trapped on the ground…the happiness as you dive and swirl in amazing patterns…the incredible exhilaration you feel when you just fly across the sky…" I opened my eyes and stared at him. "You've never experienced any of it?"

He shook his head slowly and picked his arms up and flapped them uselessly. "I can't, unless I have wings or can levitate."

I blinked, looking at him with pity. "Then you have no idea how amazing my world is." I looked up and saw a Faellie fly past. I smiled and put my tail into my mouth and whistled shrilly. (DL taught me how to do it! She's so nice…)

The Faellie stopped as it heard the whistle and turned to look at me. It yipped and dived down to float in front of me. I laughed as it licked me on the head and circled around my head for a few moments. It yipped and landed on Forest's head for a split second, tilted his head and yipped at him, and flew up and off into the sky. It turned and yipped again, did a loop-de-loop, and flew off.

I smiled again as I watched it disappear into a cloud. "Everything in the sky is friendly…" After a moment, my smile slowly faded. I looked down at the branches below us. "Well, almost everything…"

Forest frowned, but I turned away. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "What do you mean? I see nothing bad."

I sighed. "You don't want to."

"What could there be that is so terrible?"

"I'd rather not say…"

He was quiet, but I felt the tree move as he walked over to me. He stood beside me and looked at my depressed expression. He blinked. "Why not?"

I sighed, my gaze fixed on the leaves under me. "The memory wouldn't be friendly to me when I try to fly again…"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"It wouldn't, just because…" I trailed off, and he stared at me as he waited for me to finish. I shivered as I remembered the day I learned to fly, except this time I didn't smile.

I sighed and shook my head. "That was a long time ago." I mumbled to myself, "They aren't in the sky anymore…"

Forest blinked. "What? Who's not in the sky?"

I avoided his gaze. "Nothing, it's not important. Besides, you were ordered by the rat pack to ride, right?" I turned and looked at him, a fake smile on my face. (It didn't look fake at all, but I think he suspected differently, with the way he looked at me) "Let's fly, then!"


	6. Sad Memories

_Snake's Eye – Chapter Six_

_Sad Memories_

We got home to hear a ruckus going on inside. We looked at each other and blinked, but before we could even reach for the knob the door flew open and we were both tackled by some blurs.

I was subdued easily with Fire, Nic, and Icy on top of me, and Forest was on the ground with Tania on top of him and staring straight into the face of…

Something…

On his chest and staring him in the face was some kind of purple creature. It looked like a cross between a slightly overweight lizard and mini dragon, except without the wings. It had two big red eyes, black spines going down its back, black-ish stripes along its spine, and pointy teeth curved into a huge grin. Its sharp claws were in Forest's mane on his neck and seemed to be a bit stuck. (Seriously, I'm jealous of that big, puffy thing of fur; he'll be very warm in winter while I huddle by the fire, shivering my wings off)

I spoke up first. "What the heck _is _that thing?"

Tania, unexpectedly, squealed in excitement and picked the thing up. She hugged it, smiling like there was no tomorrow, and said very quickly, "This is my new Petpet! He's a Drackonack, and I named him Draykya! Isn't he adorable?" She giggled and pet 'Draykya'. He grinned and closed his eyes, hissing like a content Baby Hissi sucking its baba.

Did I just say that?

Forest got up, and Fire and the rest got off of me. As soon as I got up, though, I heard a voice that made my tail curl. "What were you two doing, hmm?"

I slowly turned to the door and saw Goldy and…her friends. (Oh, the horror! All of them under the same roof!) There was a Female Blue Uni, a Female Disco Ixi, and a Male Shadow Kyri. The male was probably the Disco's boyfriend or something like that, since they were side-by-side, but I didn't get to point that out as Icy said, "They were flying over the clouds!"

Goldy smirked, her hooves crossed. (How _do_ you walk on a flipper, anyways?) "So, you two were gone for almost two hours just 'flying'?" The Disco Ixi snickered.

I arched my eyebrows (if you can really call them that) and sneered. "Yeah, flying sure is very exhilarating! Not like you would know, being subdued to the ground and the water." I smirked. "You're just like a frail little Landfish."

Goldy narrowed her eyes. "Well, what kind of freak has no legs? And how do _you _swim?" She laughed, which made my blood boil. "I bet if you were thrown off of a ship, you would sink faster than a Rock."

I scoffed and hissed, "Well, at least I'm _smarter _than a Rock!"

The Blue Uni laughed. "Really? Can you spell that?"

I raised myself a bit higher, as if I was going to strike. "T-h-a-t, that. Can you spell 'chlorophyll'?"

The Blue Uni laughed. "That's easy! K-l-o-r-o-f…uhh…"

I smirked. "C-h-o-r-o-p-h-y-l-l. Look it up, if you can read!"

The Kyri stepped up. "You must really read a lot, bookworm! Do you ever go out much, or is this your yearly stroll?"

I growled, "_Hey, _I ain't no bookworm!" My eyes narrowed dangerouls,y something that was usually a sign of my anger escalating to a higher level of 'fuming'. "Watch it, _punk. _It's almost dinner time, and I think I hear your mommy calling."

Forest had stood up and brushed himself off a while ago, but he ended up watching us throw insults back and forth. Goldy jerked her head towards him and asked spitefully, "So, what were you doing with him? Trying to teach him to fly?"

I hissed a threat in 'hiss', but she couldn't understand it, of course. (Otherwise, I'd be in big trouble) "Well, at least _he's _got four legs, like any normal mammal! You poke at me for having none, but look at you!"

She and her group laughed haughtily, which made me curl my lip up slightly, showing the tip of my fangs. The Ixi smirked and said in some weird sing-song voice, "Well, you're definitely not normal! It's no wonder why they don't call you a mammal!" The Uni snickered and added, "What _do _you call some kind of freak-ish snake thing with wings? Other than stupid, that is!"

The group laughed again, but before I could make a remark to them (which I thought was a pretty good one, I'll have to tell you about it later) DL came over to the door, holding a Scado (Goldy's Petpet, 'Prince Nut') and being followed by Tania holding Draykya. She stepped from behind Goldy and them and said, "What are you guys doing?"

The Disco Ixi looked at her and said, still in that weird singing voice, "Oh, we're just talking, Ms. DL!"

DL nodded, although it looked to me that she knew something we didn't. She looked at Goldy and said, "Would you mind going to the mall or something and shopping with your friends? It would have the house less cluttered so that I could clean," there she sighed reluctantly, "And so that you can get our necessities."

"Like make-up!" Goldy smiled and turned to her friends. "Come on, let's go, gang!" They all walked off, but Goldy and the other girls bumped into me and that Kyri guy gave me a dirty look. I glared back with equal intensity, but he just smirked and walked off.

DL sighed and scratched her head with her free hand. "Man, those guys drive me nuts! 'Let's go shopping!' Geez, I can't take much more of this…"

I grinned and watched them walk off down the street, talking like crazy, as usual. "What did you say that stopped you from getting rid of her?"

DL sighed. "Believe it or not, she actually helps with the stuff I don't like to do, like grooming Icy and Tania's fur." She sighed again. "I don't do girl talks, either, and Tania and Icy looked up to her, anyways. I wouldn't be able to let her go without upsetting the whole household." She smirked and winked at me. "Besides, I know you guys are just the best of friends!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, we are the _bestest _kind of friends _ever, _whenever the world ends or Boris fly."

I saw Forest look at me surprised, and I thought, "Crap, isn't that what I overheard when…crap!" I glanced away him quickly, slightly paler.

DL sighed. "Well, would either of you mind if I asked _you_ for help? I can't do the garden and house at the same time."

I shrugged. "Sure, no prob." Forest just nodded.

DL grinned. "Thanks!" She put Prince Nut down and patted him on the head. "Well, are ya hungry? Huh, little guy?" The Scado made a little squeak and hopped up and down, and DL walked off to her room to fill up the Petpet bowl in there.

I thought aloud, "Why does she keep the petpets in her room? She sleeps with them and everything…" I smirked. "She probably doesn't want anymore trouble after what happened _last _time!"

I slithered around to the back, where I stretched my wings and sighed. "I wonder which part I should start at first…"

Forest came up suddenly from behind me, and he stood beside me and said quietly, "Where'd you hear that?"

He made me jump and yelp, but I sighed in relief when I saw it was him. "Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack."

He just stood there, staring at me. "Were you eavesdropping?"

I replied, maybe a bit too quickly, "No."

He sighed and shook his head. "You were, weren't you?"

My tail twitched slightly. "No."

He looked off over to the kelp part of the garden. The different kelp was organized into different groups: Red Kelp here, Spongy Kelp there, etc. The whole collection seemed like a field, and it swayed as if by the water currents in its natural environment. He watched it sway for a moment, making me feel uncomfortable. I turned to go over to the garden to start weeding and watering, but he said, "What did you hear?"

I stopped, frozen to the spot. I felt trapped in a cage like the Kadoaties in the Kadoatary. I finally said, "Nothing."

I could tell he didn't believe me by the tone of his voice. "And what kind of 'nothing' did you hear?"

I glanced at him. "Nothing! I heard absolutely nothing."

I began to slither to the garden, but he stepped in front of me. I stopped again and gulped. He didn't look angry, but that didn't convince me he wasn't. He repeated slowly, "What did you hear?"

I looked down, very ashamed. (Which is odd; I've never felt ashamed in my life. I've done what I pleased and it felt good) "Pho's usual garbage, his little remarks…"

"You heard about Feather, didn't you?"

I flinched. Bulls-eye.

He sighed. I gulped again, but he just turned away. I watched his face for any sign of anger, but it was just as expressionless as usual. He didn't look mad or hurt that I had spied on him.

It made me feel even worse.

Finally, after an eternity of standing and staring and thinking, he spoke up. "You want to know who she is, don't you?"

I blinked in surprise, but he was right, so I nodded slowly. He looked at me, studying me for something, but what he was looking for I hadn't a clue. He looked to his left and found a rock to sit on. He sat down, and I just lowered myself and curled my tail around me. ('Just like a rattlesnake', as DL says…but what's a 'rattlesnake'?)

He sighed. "Well, before I was with 'mom', I was with another owner…his name I will never tell. It was tough, very tough, for he overworked us in the BattleDome and forced us to battle tough foes. It was horrible." He shivered and grabbed his arm as if remembering something painful.

"But, I wasn't the only one to be punished. There was another pet that I really don't care about, but the other one was…Feather.

"She was a Cloud Eyrie, a pretty one, and she was the only one I confided anything to. She was, in a way, my sister. We all shared the same room, anyways, but that other pet stayed off in the corner and didn't talk." He shook his head. "He was painted gray, but I can't remember his species…

"Oh, well, that's not the point. Feather and I would read together and talk about our favorite stories, go into the forest and explore whenever we could, and do many other things together." He stopped for a moment, probably remembering some good memory with her.

_Like when we were walking through the forest to and from the concert! _I thought as I remembered his far-off look. I hesitantly asked him, "But…what happened?"

He looked up at me, his eyes rather sad looking. "He abandoned us."

I winced, remembering how the pets I saw in the pound looked so sad the day of the transfer. All of their crying faces and pleas made me feel like crying, and I felt colder even though it was daytime. I wrapped my wings around myself and shivered as Forest sighed. He continued on with his story.

"We were all put together in one room, thank goodness, so me, the gray pet, and Feather huddled in the corner. It was the only time I've ever really seen him react to something…he was scared, it was easy to tell, yet he looked slightly relieved." Forest shrugged. "He probably wanted to get away from our owner as soon as possible. I'm surprised a gray pet can see the brighter signs of things at all, let alone in such a dreary place like the pound.

"He was the first one to go. A little kid came in, saw him, and took him away. I remember the look on the kid's face as he paid the fee, too; he looked overjoyed, and before he even left the room he hugged the gray…" he snapped his fingers. "He was a Draik! That's what species he was! I remember now, because when we were cowering in the corner he kept poking me in the eye with his wings."

I smiled. "Well, it seems you were surrounded by lots of flying creatures; the Gray Draik, the Pink Adoption Uni, and Feather!"

The corners of Forest's lips turned up lightly, but it was very quick, and by the time it registered in my mind I thought I had imagined it. He nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Odd, huh?"

I sighed, my wings drooping. "I wish _I _was surrounded by others kinda like me…I'm the only one that can fly, so I can't really fly with anyone…other than Pho…"

"And it doesn't seem like he flies that much."

"Right…"

Forest was quiet for a moment. I kept looking at the ground, wondering if Pho liked to even flap his wings, while he just stared at me thinking. (I could tell he was staring at me because I could feel two little spots starting to burn…it's a Hissi thing, you wouldn't understand)

When he finally spoke up, he said, "Why don't you go make friends?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, let's go slither up to some random flying pet and say 'Hey, wanna be friends and fly around Neopia?' That'll work…" I sighed. "Besides, it's not that easy to make friends when you're considered a predator…"

"But you don't eat anybody."

"Other than the steaks DL gets from Tyrannia. And where do those come from?"

"Oh…"

We sat there for a while, thinking to ourselves, when we heard DL shouting from far off, "Are you guys done _already_?"

I looked up quickly and a sweat-drop appeared as I realized we were supposed to be working. I looked at DL looking at us from a window and laughed nervously. "Uhh, almost, we're just, uhh, taking a break!" I quickly got up and flew over to the kelp garden.

I needed to work fast before _I _became a Tyrannian steak!


	7. Petpet Chaos

Snake's Eyes, Chapter Seven

_Snake's Eyes, Chapter Seven_

_Petpet Chaos_

It was the week after I had eavesdropped on Forest and Pho. I was watering the plant's that were in one of the gardens, which was actually really surprising. I hummed to myself as I watered the Dragonbud. It snapped hungrily at me, and I rolled my eyes and threw a small piece of meat to it. It gulped it down quickly and belched contently. I sighed and turned to water (and feed) the Dragonbud next to it when I looked down at the ground. A puddle of water formed where a depression of the earth caused it to gather, and a quaky red figure wavered across the surface.

I turned and saw Fire walking towards me. He smiled as he eyed the watering can in my tail (if you dare say anything, I will _hurt_ you) and teased, "I see you've got a green tail!"

I rolled my eyes at his horrible joke. "Oh, lay off, Fire! DL asked me to do the watering again. Forest was already helping her with sorting the junk in the huge closet. I almost feel sorry for him having to miss doing his favorite thing."

Fire smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"

I grinned back at him. "I'd rather do this than the closet!"

We both laughed, but Fire stopped before me and cleared his throat. "So, you're on good terms with Forest, right?"

I nodded, still smiling. "Yeah, he's not as quiet anymore. He even started _one_ conversation instead of me!"

Fire smile grew wider. "What did I tell you? He's your friend now! Sort of, kinda, in a way… but still!" He crossed his arms and looked at me as if he thought of something funny. "Now, it's time for the other part of the bargain!"

I looked at him questioningly. "Bargain? What bargain?"

"You know, when you said you'd never make friends?" Fire winked. "It's time for Pho now."

I stared at him. "You're serious."

He laughed and shook his head. "I was serious last time, dork! Why wouldn't I now?"

I groaned and turned towards the Dragonbud that was whimpering for a piece of meat. As I flung a piece at it, I whined, "Can't I do it later?"

Fire shook his head again, except this time as a 'No'. "Do it now and get it over with!" He smirked. "Unless…you're _chicken_."

I glanced at him, my jaw open. "Chicken? Did you just call me _chicken?_"

Fire did an impression of a chicken flapping its wings and began to cluck like one, but I whacked him in the head with the watering can. As he rubbed his head, I hissed, "I am _not_ a chicken!"

"Then I triple-chocolate-dairy-fudge-sundae-Warf-dare you!"

I smirked at him and grabbed his paw. "Done." I shook it as he nodded, a look of triumph on his face. I turned and finished watering the Dragonbud, when I suddenly heard him say, "Draca?"

I groaned and shouted, "What _now?_"

"Just wanted to let you know you have to meet him at Hubert's Hotdog Stand. See ya!"

I spun around as I saw him run towards the house with a look of mischievousness on his face. I hissed and flew after him, the watering can forgotten on the ground, and yelled after him, "Fire!"

I heard a clanging sound, and I glanced over my shoulder to see the Dragonbud chewing on the watering can. I scowled and zoomed into the house.

DL can always buy another one.

_At Hubert's…_

I looked around for the little red-head (and feet and wings and tail and…okay, you get the idea) as I ordered a chili cheese hotdog. I silently cursed at Fire for doing this to me; I don't like being tricked, and he did a very nasty one too! He could have at least _warned_ me about it before he asked me to come. Either way, I really had no choice in the matter, but it was still wrong!

I ordered another hotdog, and as I took a bite out of it, I heard, "Hey, Draca."

I looked up to see Pho standing there with an almost reluctant look on his face. _Same here, bud…_ "Well, what do you wanna do?" He shrugged, and I sighed mentally. _Great, he's worse than Forest. _I glanced around at random to try to find something quickly. Then, an idea struck me.

Literally.

I turned around just to get something dark flung in my face. I fell backwards in shock, and I heard footsteps run off. I shook my head and got up, grumbling and looking around. "Who dunnit?"

I couldn't see the perpetrator anywhere; the crowd was just too thick. I growled, and then I looked down to see what they had thrown at me. On the ground was a plushie. Not a paintbrush, not a fishing pole, and definitely not a bag of neopoints; a pure, honest to the Faerie Queen, true and good as new Darigan Eyrie plushie.

Weeeeeeeee…

I picked it up and turned it over to get a good look at it. It seemed in perfect condition. There were no holes or rips in the cloth, and it seemed pretty new, too. I shook my head and sighed. "Man, if only it were a paint brush…" I looked back at Pho, but I was surprised to see him…

Drooling…

His eyes were sparkling as if they were rubies as he eyed the plushie, his jaw dropped as far as it would go. He looked like Tania when she was staring at Goldy's collection of Usuki dolls, for crying out loud! I looked down at the plushie and blinked, then looked back at him. I slowly handed it to him. He almost squealed as he snatched the plushie from my tail and began to babble about 'perfect' and 'just what he needed'. I felt my own jaw drop as I watched him _hug_ it.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my _real_ brother?"

He looked at me, as if realizing I was actually there, and his mouth opened in a silent, "Oh…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously and chuckled, grinning anxiously. I raised an eyebrow as he mumbled, "Oops…" I waited for a moment, and he finally sighed and began to explain. "I have a collection of plushies, and…this Darigan Eyrie plushie…is all I need to finish part of my Eyrie collection. I…I like plushies. A lot."

"'Like' is an understatement." He looked down embarrassed, and I sighed. "Well, after that bit of…oddness, what do you want to do now?"

He thought for a moment, before he asked, "How many Neopoints do we have with us?" I held up my bag. "I know I brought 3000, just in case. What about you?" He pulled out his own sack. "A little over 3000. So that makes 6000 altogether." He titled his head slightly and asked, "What bands do you like?"

I smirked. "Moehawk, Gruundo, Sticks and Stones, Twisted Roses, the good stuff!"

He blinked, and then he asked, "What about…hangouts?"

"Haunted Woods, Lost Desert, Faerie Land…"

"…Food?"

"Tyrannian, Desert, Faerie, Spooky…"

"Uhh…" He frowned and muttered, "How about something _I_ like?"

I rolled my eyes. _Wimp._ "What _do_ you like?"

"Reading, Maraquan food, Terror Mountain, and Wock til You Drop."

"You are a sad, strange little pet," I shook my head. "I take pity on you."

"Well, _you're_ too strange and weird."

"No, I'm _adventurous_. You're just _boring_."

"Am not!"

"Then do you like _anything_ exciting? Like _fly?_" I crossed my arms and stared at him while I was secretly hoping he said 'yes'. I saw him staring at me, watching my expressions, making me feel a little self-conscious. _Why is he staring at me? Do I have something on my scales or what?_

"You…are asking me…if I like _flying?_"

I blinked. "Well, yeah…"

"You're asking an…_Eyrie_…if he likes flying?"

"I just said 'yeah' –"

"Of _course_ I flippin' love flying!" He waved his paw in front of my face. "What are you, psycho? I'm a flippin' winged beast! What do you expect?"

I smirked. "Great. Then you're ready?"

Pho looked at me in confusion. "Ready? For what?"

"_Tag! _You're it!" I jumped up and tapped his shoulder before I flapped my wings and soared over his head, laughing so hard I could barely keep in the air. He shook his fist at me and started to run, before kicking off of the ground and soaring after me. He actually went faster, since his wings were better at catching warm air currents than mine.

But I was lither.

He kept trying to snap at my tail with his beak, but he would just eat air as I writhed out of the range of his face. He would yell in frustration and drop after me, and we climbed over fields of cotton in the sky and dived down as if we jumped off of the high-dive. We twisted and soared through the sunshine, with my laughter ringing out and scaring little Faellies as we flew past them.

I looked back at him, and although he had his eyes narrowed, his mouth was set up in a mischievous smirk. I smiled at him and suddenly dived down, and he tucked his wings to dive after me. I swerved to the right, but he had to let out his wings again, which really cut down his speed, and his turn wasn't as smooth as mine. I'm just too awesome.

And I told him that. "You can't catch me, slowpoke!"

His smirk grew wider, and then he started to pump his wings harder. I was surprised as he quickly gained ground (err, I mean air) on me, and I had to do a series of loop-de-loops just to avoid his hands reaching for my tail. He almost caught me, but I did one more loop and dived straight down. I'm a faster diver than him.

Finally, we landed at Neopian Central beside the shops with throngs of pets and people everywhere. We were grinning and laughing, pushing each other and punching each others' shoulders. We walked (slithered) past the shops, looking at all of the clothes and smelling the food. We walked past the plushie store, and he stopped and told me he had a part-time job at the register. I raised an eyebrow, but seeing the way his eyes sparkled as he stared at the plushies in the window made me not say anything. I mean, I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

What is _wrong_ with me?

We kept on walking, since he didn't have his shift until nighttime, and we were going past the petpet shop when I stopped. I stared into the window, standing there with an expression of amazement and admiration. There, in a cage with a standard bowl for food and one of those sippy-things (you know, that they have for Meepits? Or, as DL would say, 'pink hamsters'? Seriously, what's a 'hamster'?) filled with water, was a Cobrall. Nothing special, no paint or anything, just a normal, plain-old Cobrall.

Oh, I wanted that thing _so _bad!

Pho stopped and looked at me. "What are you looking at?" He peeked over my shoulder and saw the Cobrall in the window. The snake petpet tilted its head at me, flicking its tongue in and out. Oh, man, I wanted it _SO BAD!!_

"I've gotta have it."

Pho looked at me incredulously and said, "What, that petpet? I doubt DL's gonna buy that anytime soon, especially after just now getting Tania that little monster!" He shook his head. "You look and sound like I do when I see a plushie I like."

I didn't care what he said. I know I wanted one. But, of course, he was right. That little guy was WAY over my budget, and DL was already jam-packed with all of the other little buggers. _I probably won't ever get it…_

I sighed and looked down. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" I kept my gaze to the ground as I continued to slither down the sidewalk, wings drooping. Pho tried to talk to me, but I just nodded in reply. I wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.

We arrived at the house after a while of silence. He opened the door, looked around cautiously, and put a foot in. When nothing happened, he put another in, and then…

"_Help!_"

Suddenly, all of the petpets came crashing into the room, with Nic in front. After them, Goldy, DL, and Tania were chasing them. Goldy looked in distress and called, "Come back here, Prince Nut! You're getting dirty!"

DL looked at them and said, "We could use some _help_ here!"

Tania, however, was giggling and following them, cheering the little guys on. "Go, Draykya! Go, Prince Nut! Go, Fang and Nic!"

Nic was laughing his head off as they all chased him, running around the room in a circle, and Pho and I looked at each other nervously. After a moment, he said, "Hubert's again?"

I nodded. "Definitely."

We both turned around and ran out the door, leaving DL to deal with the mess. I could swear I heard her yell something about 'trouble', but I wasn't really listening.

Boy, will I have a lot to go through when I get home!


End file.
